Water Pollution Sources

The three main sources of water pollution are agricultural waste, domestic waste, and industrial waste. Agricultural waste can be composed of garden waste such as grass or flower cuttings as well as poultry and livestock manure and what's left of grain, fruit, and vegetable harvests. Generally speaking, it's waste from farming and livestock operations. Domestic waste is solid waste, composed of garbage and sewage. Finally, industrial waste is any waste that comes from a mean of production, such as that from factories and mines. It may include liquid, sludge, solid, or hazardous waste.

Examples of agricultural waste are plastic containers, animal waste, and pesticides.

Examples of industrial waste are leftover solid materials such as textiles, packaging materials, and ashes.

Examples of domestic waste are disinfectants, automotive oil, and batteries.


Methods of Detection and Cause and Effect of Each Method of Pollution
There are several methods of detecting water quality depending on the use of the water. The three most general methods of determining the quality of water are by determining;
• Chemical Content: Hardness (calcium + magnesium), Metals (iron etc), nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), chloride, sodium, organic compounds, etc.
• Physical Content: Turbidity, colour, odour, etc.
• Biological Content: Fecal coliform, total coliform, viruses, etc.

Non-Point Source Pollution
Caused by pollutants which spread out over a large area and have no specific outlet or discharge point.
Causes of non-point source water pollution are divided into 4 main categories:
Agriculture
• Fertilizers - Nitrate pollution, Ammonia pollution phosphate pollution
• Pesticides
o Weedicides
o Insecticides
o Fungicides
o Manures
Sanitary wastes
• Human and animal
Solid wastes
• City droppings - carbaneaceous paper / cloth / wooden materials
• Animal droppings and slaughter house wastes
• Domestic wastes
• Industrial solid wastes - paper wastes, iron filings, metal chips
• Market Wastes - vegetable / fruit rottings
Natural Resources
• Death of animals, birds Reasons - Ammonia released by carcasses of animals, birds.
• Water collection from forest areas - Nitrates and ammonia compounds from rich forest soils
• Natural mineral deposits

Point Source Pollution
Caused by pollutants entering the environment through any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, such as a smokestack, pipe, ditch, tunnel, or conduit.
The main cause of Point Source water pollution is Industry:
Industries
• Paper industries - chlorinated effluents
• Textile industries - Ammoniated effluents
• Thermal plants - Hot water
• Fertilizer, food and chemical industries - acidic / corrosive effluents
• Petroleum industries - oily effluents
• Leather industries - sulphur - based effluents



Effects
Nutrients such as phosphorus that are not removed during water treatment and dumped into surface water can cause overgrowth of algae and other organisms, also leading to lower dissolved oxygen.
Industrial processes produce toxic waste containing heavy metals. When heavy metals filter into water, they are fatal to marine life. Shellfish and fresh fish are staple menu items for people around the world. Humans are affected by the heavy metals ingested by the fish and shellfish, causing health problems and sometimes death. The heavy metals in water have also been linked to severe birth defects, a damaged or suppressed immune system, cancer, fertility problems, and developmental problems in children.

Results in water pollution and unsafe drinking water, and can restrict activities like fishing and swimming.

Ground water is often a resource for our drinking water. If it isn’t treated properly, those harmful elements can cause serious health issues for human beings and domestic animals.

Some proactive measures to follow to avoid contributing domestic waste are to keep littler, pet wastes, leaves and debris out of street gutters and storm drains, to apply lawn and garden chemicals sparingly, to dispose of used oil, paints, and antifreeze properly (usually communities have programs for collecting household hazardous wastes), to control soil erosion on your property by planting ground cover, to have your septic system inspected and pumped every 3 to 5 years, and to purchase household detergents and general cleanerst aht are low in phosphorous.


To lessen agricultural waste, farmers should invest in, for example, Agricultural Solution Waste, Inc.'s products. Use of such products (a Solids Recovery Module (see below picture) and a Gas Production Module) work to remove and reuse as much waste as possible while severely reducing the amount of nutrients that enter the water (Phosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium by 90%, 65%, and 40% respectively).

To proactively avoid industrial waste pollution, waste should be reused as much as possible rather than deposited. Also, corporations should buy products to break down organic waste so it doesn't enter the water, or utilize water treatment facilities to extract their pollutants out of it before it reenters the water cycle.


The repercussions of water pollution are far reaching for the environment, wildlife, and humans. Most notably, the food chain is damaged, as animals consume pollutants and then said pollutions are transferred to humans that eat the animals. Also, diseases can spread through polluted water. The effects of water pollution are said to be the leading cause of death for humans worldwide. Another problem is acid rain, and yet another is that pollutants in the water adversely alter the overall chemistry of the water, which causes changes in acidity, temperature, and conductivity. All of these factors affect marine life, which is in turn contaminated and at times eliminated.


As clean water is essential to healthy living, the introduction of pollution into water naturally has adverse affects on the health of its consumers. Agricultural pollution releases pesticides into the water which in turn harms endocrine and reproductive ability in wildlife. Sewage from domestic waste carries microbial pathogens which spread diseases. POPs or persistent organic pollutants are released through industrial pollution which then accumulate in fish and subsequently cause harm to human health. Specifically, diseases such as Typhoid fever, Cholera, Paratyphoid fever, Bacillary dysentery, Infection Hepatitis (jaundice), Poliomyelitis, and Amoebic dysentery can arise.



Preventive measures need to be taken to avoid diseases arising from water pollution, and as the main reason for these diseases to arise is water mismanagement, simple precautions can be taken to improve the quality of water and therefore decrease the amount of pathogens in the water. City water should be disinfected and at home, water should be boiled or filtered to ensure protection.

Works Cited
"Water pollution FAQ." Water Treatment and Purification - Lenntech. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2010. .
Agency, the Environmental Protection. "Water Health Connection." Water Health Connection. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2010. .
"Effects of Water Pollution." News & Articles On Air, Land And Water Pollution Causes, Effects And Solutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2010. .
"Guide to water pollution." Guide to water pollution. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2010. .
"Preventive measures to be adopted for curbing water pollution." Healthepic - your gateway to a healthy universe.... N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2010. .